Tag Archives: MGM Grand

Five of My Favorite Places for Brunch in Vegas

02/13/2019 Shirley

I love Las Vegas. When I am in Vegas I often eat breakfast, which is something I don’t normally do at home. Here are five of my favorite places to eat breakfast in Las Vegas.

1. The Mansion at MGM Grand

The Mansion is a semi-secret, very exclusive invitation-only restaurant. I was offered the chance to eat breakfast at The Mansion when I stayed at the Skylofts at MGM Grand. The Mansion was unbelievable!

2. Tableau at Wynn Hotel

Tableau is a fantastic restaurant at the Wynn hotel. The breakfast menu is incredible and I love some of their unique items including White Chocolate and Orange French Toast.

3. Bardot Brasserie

Bardot Brasserie is a French restaurant, by Michael Mina. Bardot Brasserie opens for brunch only on Saturday and Sunday. Among all the amazing food it offers, the French Toast is a must-have. It’s made with brioche bread and vanilla mascarpone, toped with the almond brittle, and orgeat syrup on the side.

4. Zen Kitchen at Waldorf Astoria

Zen Kitchen at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was an unexpected surprise. One morning when I was at the Mandarin Oriental I wasn’t feeling like going out and so I ate there and I was pleased. The restaurant was casual but elegant and everything on the breakfast menu was great!

5. Bouchon at Venetian

The Bouchon at the Venetian was a bit hard to find, at the fourth floor overlooking the pool area. The restaurant is mostly French inspired but the breakfast items are all fantastic!

Fiave Favorite Breakfast Places in Vegas

All Posts, Holidays, Travel

2015 Chinese New Year’s in Las Vegas

03/02/2015 Shirley

I went to Las Vegas in February 2015 with three of my Chinese friends during the two weeks of Chinese New Year’s celebration. One my friends and I stayed at the Aria Hotel. The other two girls stayed at a different hotel.

I’ve been to Vegas many times, but not too often during Chinese New Year’s. I noticed that most of the nicer Vegas hotels had Chinese themed decor. But other Las Vegas hotels, like the Excalibur and the Luxor, did not have any Chinese themed decorations.

This fact reinforced the idea that there’s a somewhat clear distinction between the very best hotels in Las Vegas — those that adapt to different seasons — and those non-elite hotels that more or less remain static all throughout the year.

For example, at the nice Aria and the Wynn hotels, I saw many red lanterns and Chinese dragon decorations. And at the Bellagio, MGM Grand, and Encore resorts, I saw decorations for the ram animal, because this is the Chinese year of the ram.

Also, at the Aria (even though I didn’t get to take a photograph), I noticed that the employee name badges they wore had their name in English plus the Chinese characters for the ram animal.

I have no major conclusion, but if you’re going to Las Vegas, in my opinion, it’s worth it to spend a little bit more to stay at a top end hotel (Wynn, Encore, Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo, and Aria) and get a lot of extras that can make your visit more special.

All Posts, Travel

My Favorite Regular Las Vegas Hotels

08/26/2014 Shirley

Some time ago I posted a blog that describes my favorite upscale / luxury suites in Las Vegas. But I don’t always get to stay in upscale rooms; I sometime stay in what I’ll call ordinary hotel rooms (even though Las Vegas is far from ordinary).

So, here are my current top 10 places to stay in Las Vegas, assuming I’m not going to stay at a luxury suite of some sort.

Encore – I love the Encore Hotel. It’s at the north end of the Strip which means I can’t walk to a lot of venues, but other than that, Encore is just about perfect. It’s hard to describe, but the Encore just feels right. The prices here are a bit higher than most hotels, but well worth it in my opinion.
Wynn – The Wynn and the Encore are practically the same — the two hotels are connected and many times are referred to as Wynn/Encore collectively. I love the Wynn, especially the restaurants, which I think, as a group, are the best of any hotel in Vegas.
Bellagio – The Bellagio has a different feel than the Wynn and Encore — it’s hard to describe, but the Bellagio is a bit more conservative in some ways, mostly the décor I think. I’ve noticed that staying at the Bellagio either before or after staying at the Wynn/Encore makes the experience at all three hotels seem even better.
Palazzo – The Palazzo has great rooms — essentially all suites. And the Palazzo is directly connected to the Venetian which has a lot of great restaurants and shopping.
Aria – The Aria doesn’t seem to have one characteristic that makes it really stand out, but the property is good in a lot of ways. Nice location near the center of the Strip, nice rooms, good restaurants, and one of my all-time favorite bakeries (Jean Philippe).
The Venetian – Every time I stay at the Venetian I recall one of my all-time favorite shows, The Phantom of the Opera. I like the rooms at the Venetian (all 700+ square feet), and the shopping arcade with restaurants by the indoor canal.
Cosmopolitan – The Cosmopolitan is a nice hotel, but clearly a notch below the hotels I’ve listed above. The Cosmopolitan tries a bit too hard to be trendy, but it’s still a good hotel, and much better than older properties like the Luxor and the Tropicana.
The MGM Grand – the MGM is maybe one of the best values in Vegas. On the downside, MGM is near the very south end of the Strip which makes it impractical to walk to many other places. But the MGM has a lot going for it, and I’ve often stayed there.
Mandalay Bay – The Mandalay Bay is a good hotel, but not in the same league with my top five Vegas hotels. Mandalay has good (but not great) restaurants, good (but not great rooms), good (but not great) service, and so on.

All Posts, Food, Travel

Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas

Image 03/18/2014 Shirley

Joel Robuchon is one of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas. It is located inside the MGM Grand Hotel. The last time I was there I had one of their preconfigured four-course meals. The food was very good and the experience was great!

Before my meal began, the server pulled up a cart full of freshly baked bread for us to pick. There were about twenty options and each of them looked very tasty. I wished I could just sit there and sample the bread the entire night. I had to stop myself from eating the bread, so I could leave some room for my meal.

Each part of my four-course meal was delicious, but especially the grilled spiny lobster wrapped in buckwheat frill. The dish was cooked perfectly; the lobster was tender and full of taste. So was my beef cheeks braised with red miso and ginger.

My last course was Joel Robuchon’s famous Le Soufflé. It was a freshly baked chocolate soufflé. The server put it right in front of me and placed the ice cream on it. Although I was already beyond being full, the anticipation of watching the ice cream been absorbed by the hot soufflé raised my appetite again!

Just when I though I was done with my meal for the night, the server pulled up another cart. This time, instead of variety of baked bread, it was chocolates and sweets. I am a weak person when it comes to desserts and chocolates. It was hard for me to limit my option to five treats, but I had to.

After my first time eating at the Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas, I highly recommended it to anyone who is into food. Joel Robuchon is an upscale fancy restaurant. The food was delicious and the service was great. Although it was pricy (the four-course meal was $190 per person), the experience is priceless. After all, you are in Vegas, why not indulge yourself!